Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith expected to miss 12-14 weeks

After fearing he suffered a broken thumb Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers have confirmed that J.R. Smith will be out a while.

Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith left Tuesday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a thumb injury, and the team immediately feared he had a broken thumb.

Further diagnosis on Wednesday confirmed Smith would need surgery, and after the procedure took place on Friday a timetable for Smith was finally given.

Via NBA.com, the Cavaliers announced Smith underwent surgery to repair a complex fracture in his right thumb and is expected to miss 12-14 weeks. That means he’s essentially out until March, with a healthy return possible just in time for a likely Cavaliers’ playoff run.

Smith has had a very slow start this season, averaging 8.6 points per game and shooting 33.7 percent from the floor over 21 games. That is the second-worst scoring average, and the worst field goal percentage, of his career.

Smith lingered on the free agency market before finally re-signing with Cleveland in October, and also missed five games due to knee and ankle issues. So perhaps rust has been a factor for Smith thus far.

DeAndre Liggins started in Smith’s place in the second game of the back-to-back against Milwaukee Wednesday night, but it’s unclear if he’ll keep that role consistently. Iman Shumpert could also make some starts at shooting guard for the Cavaliers while Smith is sidelined.

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Making deep playoff runs and winning titles is the top priority for the Cavaliers until further notice, while LeBron James is around. Smith should be back in time to contribute at the most important time of the season, and he should work as well as any trade acquisition might.